Advice for Owen

You've been around a while, and you've
learned some things. What advice can you give Owen to prepare
him for what's ahead? We're looking for YOUR good advice, not just something
witty somebody famous said. What tricks have you picked up along the way?
What clever idea of yours made life easier? Send contributions to: michael.chiu@alum.mit.edu

Caring and wise friends wrote:

"Pessimists use fate as an excuse. Optimists know fate is no more than and
no less than a synthesis of all the decisions you make in life. Plan accordingly - be an optimist." -- John Adams

"Make an effort to match your socks to your shoes. Apparently many people think it's important."

"A 'mini M&Ms' container makes a great quarter holder for your car."

"Button up your coat on cold days."

"When you're thirteen, a mix-tape is a great way to tell people what you're all about."

"If the restaurant doesn't serve lemonade, ask for lemon slices and use the sugar packets on the table to make your own."

"Be messy often enough to remind you why being orderly isn't so bad."

"Stay alert when you get to Kindergarten- apparently everything you need to know in life will be revealed that year."

"Be a creator, not a consumer. It's harder, but far more interesting."

"Be wise enough to listen to your conscience when it says something you don't want to hear."

"Be right or wrong for the right reasons."

"An unrewarded good deed is still a good deed."

"It's better to be on stage, living and dying, than in the audience yawning and dozing."

"Talking to yourself is fine, just don't interrupt."

"Love is like riding a unicycle. It takes a lot of tries to get good at it, and you get banged up along the way, but everyone appreciates it when you get it right."

"80% of the problems you encounter can be solved with elbow grease. The other 20% can be solved by someone who notices you applying the elbow grease."

"Never be afraid to be alone with yourself."

"Stand up for the people you care about. "

"Stand up for the people you don't care about."

"Being afraid doesn't define you. What you do about it defines you."

Famous people wrote:

Take calculated risks. That is quite different from being rash.
-- George S. Patton

Always behave like a duck - keep calm and unruffled on the surface but paddle like the devil underneath.
-- Jacob Braude

Do not be awe struck by other people and try to copy them. Nobody can be you as efficiently as you can.
-- Norman Vincent Peale

If you are not criticized, you may not be doing much.
-- Donald H. Rumsfeld, Secretary of Defense

Advice is what we ask for when we already know the answer but wish we didn't.
-- Erica Jong

[Courage is] when you know you're licked before you begin but you begin anyway and you see it through no matter what.
-- Harper Lee, To Kill a Mockingbird, 1960